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SCW opens registration for eighth cycle of HRH Princess Sabeeka Award for Advancement of Bahraini Women
The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) announced the opening of registrations for the 8th cycle of the HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Award for the Advancement of the Bahraini Woman (2024 – 2026).
The award was established by Decree (5) of 2004, and is named in honour of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Consort of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and President of the SCW, in line with her vision to encourage ministries, governmental and private institutions, civil society, and individuals of both genders to propose initiatives and implement high-impact programmes that highlight women’s achievements across development sectors and elevate Bahrain’s civilisational progress.
This award was the first initiative launched by Her Royal Highness in her capacity as President of the SCW, aiming to strengthen the position of women, encourage public and private institutions and civil society to support women’s advancement, and foster gender balance, in addition to recognising individual initiatives that contribute to the progress of Bahraini women.
The award has also evolved globally: The national model was adopted by UN Women, leading to a global edition known as the HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women’s Empowerment. The global version was launched at UN Women’s headquarters in New York in 2015, and its third edition was launched in March 2025.
Since its inception, the award has served as a national platform for outstanding success stories and pioneering experiences, motivating institutions to transform their culture, integrate gender equality and empowerment principles into operational policies and programmes, and recognise excellence in supporting the advancement of employed Bahraini women. It seeks to ensure women’s needs are integrated into national development plans and to promote women’s leadership in executive and decision-making roles.
The award has helped position Bahrain regionally and internationally as a nation that leads in adopting qualitative initiatives to reinforce equal opportunities, and has inspired other countries seeking to develop national programmes to enhance women’s participation in public, professional and family life.
Over the past cycles, the award has made a strong national impact, with participation increasing from 30 entries in the first cycle to 356 in the seventh. This rise highlights the award’s role in encouraging institutions to compete positively, assess their readiness, and measure how well their policies and services promote gender balance.
The award committee, chaired by Lulwa Saleh Al Awadhi, Secretary General of the SCW, is responsible for setting the criteria and conditions for all nomination categories, identifying eligible institutions and individuals, and submitting its recommendations to Her Royal Highness, President of the SCW, for approval. The final selection process is overseen by an accredited international jury, which ensures compliance with the award’s eligibility standards and advises on its ongoing development.
Notably, during all cycles, participating institutions and winners have introduced exemplary practices to support women’s progress. These include institutions adopting administrative policies that enable women to balance work and family, for example, the Ministry of Education registering teachers’ children in the same school regardless of residence, or transferring a teacher caring for an elderly or disabled person to a school near her home. Some private sector institutions have provided health insurance tailored for female employees. Bahrain Kuwait Bank launched an electronic training platform that allows staff to attend many programmes remotely.
The award has also contributed to promoting gender equality in training, capacity development, women’s participation in leadership and specialised roles, and in international and local engagements. Among prominent examples is the Ministry of Interior permitting female officers to enter specialised fields such as aviation, civil defence, special security forces, protocol, and protection of dignitaries. Private sector initiatives include the launch of a CEO Award for Women’s Empowerment at Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, and a Bahraini woman’s appointment as chair of a specialised committee (Risk and Cybersecurity) at the board level in "Benefit" Company.
In the seventh cycle of the award, winners were recognised across several categories. In the public sector, the Ministry of Health was awarded under the category of ministries and official authorities, while Tamkeen (Labour Fund) received the award for official institutions. In the private sector, BAPCO Refining won in the large companies category, Mumtaz Holdings in the medium companies category, and Bahrain Exports Company in the small companies category. The Bahrain Diabetes Society was honoured among civil society institutions, and in the individual category, the award was presented to Dr. Amal Abdulrahman Al Jowder.